Getter holder



March 6, 1962 F. A. MEISEN 3,023,883

GETTER HOLDER Filed Jan. 27, 1960 INVENTOR FRANCISCUS AMALI A MEISEN 3,023,883 GETTER HOLDER Franciscus Amalia Meisen, Emmasingel, Eindhoven,

Netherlands, assignor to North American Philips Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 27, 1360, Ser. No. 5,040 3 Claims. (Cl. 206-.4)

This invention relates to getter holders and more particularly to holders of the kind having at least one open cavity of substantially U-shaped cross-section.

The invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 6, respectively, show getter holders known in the prior art; and

FIGS. 4 and 7 show two embodiments of a getter holder according to the invention.

In a prior application a getter holder has been described in which the vapour escapes in a predetermined direction and the surface of the getter powder pressed into the holder is at right angles to the desired direction of evaporation. The holder then has a shape as shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawing. Such holders permit of obtaining highly satisfactory results. It has been found that getter powder I pressed into an annular gutter 2 satisfactorily remains in place.

In certain cases, it is desirable for the getter vapour to escape straightly forwards so that use may be made of a holder 3 of the kind shown in FIG. 2 or 6 in FIGS. 5 and 6. The holder 6 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is in the form of a steel band with cavities pressed in it, into which getter powder 1 is pressed. However, it has been found that, despite pressing at high pressure, this powder cannot satisfactorily be held in place so that it readily loosens, whilst the holder 4 shown in FIG. 3 has been found in practice to be even wholly unserviceable as a result of this difiiculty.

According to the invention, it has been found that in 3,d23,883 Patented Mar. 6, 1962 a getter holder having at least one cavity of substantially U-shaped cross-section, into which the getter powder is pressed the said disadvantages may be substantially avoided if the base of the cavity is sphen'cal towards the interior. Holders of this kind are shown in FIGS. 4 and 7.

FIG. 4 shows part of an annular holder comprising a steel band 5 which has a circular groove and the base of which has a groove 8 of a shape such as to be spherical towards the interior. Such is also the case with the base 9 of the holder '7 shown in FIG. 7.

Although it is not possible to give an explanation of the said effect, it has been found to occur in practice to a considerable extent. The getter powder consists, for example, of a mixture of nickel and/ or a nickel-titanium compound and a barium-aluminum alloy. However, the invention is also important for non-evaporating getter powders containing, for example, zirconium.

What is claimed is:

1. A container for solid getter material comprising a channel shaped tube having opposing side walls and bottom wall connecting the side walls Within which a body of compressed powdered getter material is packed, said bottom wall being curved convexly toward the interior of the channel to retain the getter material in said channel.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 in which the channel is annular.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 in which the channel shaped tube is formed in a metal band.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,182,872 Karl Dec. 12, 1939 2,824,640 Della Porta Feb. 25, 1958 2,907,451 Della Porta Oct. 6, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 957,083 France Aug. 22, 1949 

